Bids to end Juniper vs Palo Alto lawsuits nixed

Patent infringement showdown slated for 24 February

It appears Juniper Networks and Palo Alto Networks will have their day in court over respective claims of patent infringement on the underlying technology that drives key aspects of next-generation firewall security appliances.

A federal court in Delaware yesterday denied Juniper's motion for summary judgment, essentially ruling without trial that Palo Alto Networks compromised seven of its security patents.

Palo Alto Networks, on the other hand, was denied its motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that there is not enough evidence to support Juniper's claims.

The net result: The two security vendors will take their respective cases to court on 24 February, assuming a settlement isn't reached in the meantime.

The court's pretrial ruling is the latest development in the long simmering legal battle between the two companies. In December 2011, Juniper filed a lawsuit alleging Nir Zuk, founder of Palo Alto Networks, and Yuming Mao used seven technology patents developed by NetScreen Technologies, to creat their next-generation firewall.

Palo Alto Networks claimed a partial victory in the pretrial ruling, as the court granted summary judgments for four of the disputed patents. Essentially, the court said there wasn't enough evidence to say whether Palo Alto Networks infringed on protected technology.

"We believe the ruling is consistent with our position that we do not infringe these patents," said Mark McLaughlin, chief executive officer of Palo Alto Networks. "From the outset, we said we would vigorously defend the company against Juniper's lawsuit. Our business has always been focused on delivering unique offerings for our customers. We remain committed to defending our products against unwarranted claims of patent infringement. We look forward to proving at trial that we do not infringe the Juniper patents."

However, the court ruling will allow Juniper Networks to present arguments and evidence on all seven of the disputed patents at trial. This opens the potential that a jury could still find in favour of Juniper and grant compensation.

"The judge granted Juniper's motion for summary judgment on assignor estoppel on all asserted patents. The significance of that ruling is that Palo Alto Networks will not be able to claim that the patents are invalid. Additionally, the judge rejected Palo Alto Networks' requests to dismiss Juniper's seven patents from the case, holding that Juniper may present its claims to the jury on all patents. Juniper intends to continue vigorously defending and protecting against the willful infringement of its intellectual property, and we look forward to our upcoming day in court," Juniper Networks said in a statement.

While the case is now set to go to trial, there's still a chance a settlement could be reached. Wells Fargo financial analysts Gray Powell says, that with no clear winner in the pretrial motions, both sides have an opportunity to reach terms and avoid a courtroom battle.

"The [Palo Alto Networks] vs [Juniper Networks] case appears to be a long way from being decided. However, with PANW getting some partial wins for summary judgment on a few of the patents we think the likelihood of a settlement may have improved and that would not be that bad for [Palo Alto Networks]," Powell wrote.

The outcome of this case could have implications for the two company's respective solution provider networks. Since the lawsuit was filed, Palo Alto Networks has become one of the hottest technology companies in the market and a good revenue generator for resellers. Juniper Networks, on the other hand, has experienced ups and downs in its security unit. The lawsuit could ultimately affect price and margin structures that ripple through the reseller community.

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